Fill in the blank: Next season the Gophers will finish ____ in the Big Ten

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Next season the Gophers will finish ____ in the Big Ten and in the round of ___ in the NCAA tournament.

Go!
 

From the Barn said:
Next season the Gophers will finish ____ in the Big Ten and in the round of ___ in the NCAA tournament.

Go!
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The gophers will finish 6th in the big ten and in the sweet 16 in the NCAA tournament.
 

Assuming all of this good news is true and no one of import leaves? I'd say 3rd or better. This question is really better asked a month from now. NCAA wins are too unpredictable - ask Duke and Missouri.
 

Gophers will finish in the Big Ten, and may or may not make the Big Dance.

By failing to truly answer, I have set myself up for simply enjoying each game next season without running out of beer.
 

bga1 said:
Assuming all of this good news is true and no one of import leaves? I'd say 3rd or better. This question is really better asked a month from now. NCAA wins are too unpredictable - ask Duke and Missouri.
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As great as we are looking, I just can't see us bypassing MSU, OSU, Michigan, Indiana, and Wisconsin.

If Lockett does come here, 3rd is my guess with an elite 8 / final 4.
 


scher215 said:
As great as we are looking, I just can't see us bypassing MSU, OSU, Michigan, Indiana, and Wisconsin.

If Lockett does come here, 3rd is my guess with an elite 8 / final 4.
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Did you forget MSU is losing Green? How about Michigan and their transfers (possibly Burke as well), Wisconsin losing Taylor, OSU probably losing Sullinger and for sure Buford. Yet, you still can't see us bypassing them? Even with the addition of an All-American and emerging of Rodney, Dre, and Joe? Way to go out on a limb there bud.
 

Obviously this is way early, but collegehoopsnet.com started doing their pre-preseason rankings:

http://www.collegehoopsnet.com/early-2012-13-ranking-a-look-ahead-170050

2. Indiana
3. Michigan
6. Wisconsin

All these have a lot of players returning and/or some highly-regarded players coming in. If we added Lockett and Trevor to the mix, I think we'd be able to compete with these three but would have a tough time saying right now we'd be better.
 

MSU losing Green will be big, but Izzo always finds a way to rally an incredible team. UW losing Taylor is pretty big too, but I think they return 4 starters and Gasser looks like he could fill their "wait for 34 seconds, chuck up a 3" role fairly well. OSU won't be as good next year, but they'll definitely field a good team that will probably finish top-5 in the Big Ten. Michigan will hurt unless they can get some big-time freshman contribution.

I can see us finishing 4th or 5th in the conference, and make a run to the Sweet 16.
 

We will have one of the more experienced teams in the league, if not one of the more talented. We could have five seniors... Trevor, Rodney, Trent, Welch, and Ingram.
 



What he heck - Big10 champions next year!
 

MadtownGopher said:
We will have one of the more experienced teams in the league, if not one of the more talented. We could have five seniors... Trevor, Rodney, Trent, Welch, and Ingram.
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Amazing to how we go from "we're the youngest team in the Big Ten" to "we're one of the more experienced teams in the league" over the summer.
 

If we get both Mbakwe and Lockett and don't lose any major contributors my not-so-bold prediction is we finish anywhere from 3rd-5th, but the sky is the limit. Very, very excited about next season. A big year would not only be fun in and of itself, but it could also give us a nice boost in recruiting (especially with guys like Tyus and Rashad). Having said that, I'm still enjoying this season and am looking forward to beating Washington.
 

Is it bad that I just assume something will go wrong? It just seems too good that everything is going to fall in to place. Who is going to transfer? Who is going to get hurt? Who is going to be suspended? I have lived in Minnesota too long to actually believe everything will work out... Inevitable Tragedy in a Barn Called Williams..

Sorry. I'm done beeing a buzz kill. Just had to get it out.
 



easy said:
Is it bad that I just assume something will go wrong? It just seems too good that everything is going to fall in to place. Who is going to transfer? Who is going to get hurt? Who is going to be suspended? I have lived in Minnesota too long to actually believe everything will work out... Inevitable Tragedy in a Barn Called Williams..

Sorry. I'm done beeing a buzz kill. Just had to get it out.
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Well, if you think about it, there's more opportunity for things to go wrong than to go right. We have no idea if Trent Lockett will end up here, or in Ames, or somewhere else in the Midwest. If he does end up here, will he fit? How will the young guys progress? Will Trevor return to play? Will Trevor return to form after the surgery if he does return to play? That's why it's a big "if" right now, but "if" things work out in our favor, we could have something very special on our hands.
 

6th or 7th.

Until proven otherwise, I'm always going to pick the Gophers behind Michigan State, Ohio State and Wisconsin, no matter what those programs have returning. That gets me to 4th.

Throw in Indiana for sure and probably Michigan (assuming Burke & Hardaway are back) and that gets me to 6th. But certainly with the potential good news (getting Lockett & a healthy Mbakwe), the Gophers should be more than capable of that.

Would take any NCAA tourney win. We need to get off the "no NCAA wins since '97" schneid (sp?).

Another goal I'd really like to obatain. ... a freakin' bye in the Big Ten Tournament. We've only had one in the 15-year history of the tourney.
 

SelectionSunday said:
6th or 7th.

Until proven otherwise, I'm always going to pick the Gophers behind Michigan State, Ohio State and Wisconsin, no matter what those programs have returning. That gets me to 4th.

Throw in Indiana for sure and probably Michigan (assuming Burke & Hardaway are back) and that gets me to 6th. But certainly with the potential good news (getting Lockett & a healthy Mbakwe), the Gophers should be more than capable of that.

Would take any NCAA tourney win. We need to get off the "no NCAA wins since '97" schneid (sp?).
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I'm with you. This league is loaded.
 

SelectionSunday said:
6th or 7th.

Until proven otherwise, I'm always going to pick the Gophers behind Michigan State, Ohio State and Wisconsin, no matter what those programs have returning. That gets me to 4th.

Throw in Indiana for sure and probably Michigan (assuming Burke & Hardaway are back) and that gets me to 6th. But certainly with the potential good news (getting Lockett & a healthy Mbakwe), the Gophers should be more than capable of that.

Would take any NCAA tourney win. We need to get off the "no NCAA wins since '97" schneid (sp?).

Another goal I'd really like to obatain. ... a freakin' bye in the Big Ten Tournament. We've only had one in the 15-year history of the tourney.
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Agree with this. Never know what can happen, good or bad, but I'll go with the track record until proven otherwise. Never know how dominant TM will be coming off the injury, and I still think they are lacking a good PG (I think Andre Hollins is more of a 2)...
 

gopherbadgerman said:
Agree with this. Never know what can happen, good or bad, but I'll go with the track record until proven otherwise. Never know how dominant TM will be coming off the injury, and I still think they are lacking a good PG (I think Andre Hollins is more of a 2)...
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All I know is that Hollins / Mbakwe pick and roll game is going to be insane. Throw Rodney in there too if both can hit that 15 foot jumper.
 

If the Gophers can get through a season with Trevor and Rodney returning and no significant injuries, I think they have a chance to be in the top four in the Big Ten. It is way to early for me to predict what would happen in the NCAA. The key will be to find a "go to" scorer during next season.
 


SelectionSunday said:
6th or 7th.

Until proven otherwise, I'm always going to pick the Gophers behind Michigan State, Ohio State and Wisconsin, no matter what those programs have returning. That gets me to 4th.

Throw in Indiana for sure and probably Michigan (assuming Burke & Hardaway are back) and that gets me to 6th. But certainly with the potential good news (getting Lockett & a healthy Mbakwe), the Gophers should be more than capable of that.

Would take any NCAA tourney win. We need to get off the "no NCAA wins since '97" schneid (sp?).

Another goal I'd really like to obatain. ... a freakin' bye in the Big Ten Tournament. We've only had one in the 15-year history of the tourney.
Click to expand...

The Gophers with a healthy Mbakwe and with Lockett should have enough talent to be better than Michigan; although with the freshman class they're coming in with they are certainly a wildcard. Gophers next year without Lockett should be > Penn State, Nebraska, Northwestern, Illinois, Iowa, and competing soundly with the likes of Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Purdue. Ohio State's dominance depends a lot on what Sullinger plans to do. Michigan State is always tough, but they're at least somewhat beatable the past couple of years. By my guess, then, I'd say the Gophers should legitimately compete for #3, but could fall to #7 if things don't go right.
 


SelectionSunday said:
6th or 7th.

Until proven otherwise, I'm always going to pick the Gophers behind Michigan State, Ohio State and Wisconsin, no matter what those programs have returning. That gets me to 4th.

Throw in Indiana for sure and probably Michigan (assuming Burke & Hardaway are back) and that gets me to 6th. But certainly with the potential good news (getting Lockett & a healthy Mbakwe), the Gophers should be more than capable of that.

Would take any NCAA tourney win. We need to get off the "no NCAA wins since '97" schneid (sp?).

Another goal I'd really like to obatain. ... a freakin' bye in the Big Ten Tournament. We've only had one in the 15-year history of the tourney.
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Year 6 SS. All Tubby's players. RW, TM, Dre, Austin, etc etc. No better than 6 or 7?

Not much confidence in the coach and team eh?
 

BarnBurner said:
Year 6 SS. All Tubby's players. RW, TM, Dre, Austin, etc etc. No better than 6 or 7?

Not much confidence in the coach and team eh?
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I guess that means you have a lot of confidence in Tubby, right?
 

mattw1067 said:
I guess that means you have a lot of confidence in Tubby, right?
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Frankly, no - due to the recent results. However, he is a NCAA Champ, is being paid handsomely, is in year 6, has all hi own players, and from what the hole is saying about the run in the NIT - should be no problem.

Obviously you see things differently?

Results matter Matty.
 

BarnBurner said:
Frankly, no - due to the recent results. However, he is a NCAA Champ, is being paid handsomely, is in year 6, has all hi own players, and from what the hole is saying about the run in the NIT - should be no problem.

Obviously you see things differently?

Results matter Matty.
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6 or 7 in the B1G is like a 5 seed in the tourney. It's not like it's a bad spot to be in in arguably the best conference.
 

BarnBurner said:
Frankly, no - due to the recent results. However, he is a NCAA Champ, is being paid handsomely, is in year 6, has all hi own players, and from what the hole is saying about the run in the NIT - should be no problem.

Obviously you see things differently?

Results matter Matty.
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I agree. In Tubby's 6th year at what we are paying him, anything less than undefeated is accepting mediocrity. In year 7 with the extention, I'm looking at undefeated, unscored on.


Results matter Matty.
 

zambam said:
6 or 7 in the B1G is like a 5 seed in the tourney. It's not like it's a bad spot to be in in arguably the best conference.
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That could be right. A 6th finish could be in the 10-8 or 9-9 range and on the fringe of the top 25...what was purdue this year a 7 or something? I am assuming they were the last in from the B10 - MSU, Mich, OSU, Wisc, and Ind before them?

IMO probably a 8-10 seed being the 7th place team in the B10, but in the tourney without much sweat on selection sunday...
 

gopherbadgerman said:
That could be right. A 6th finish could be in the 10-8 or 9-9 range and on the fringe of the top 25...what was purdue this year a 7 or something? I am assuming they were the last in from the B10 - MSU, Mich, OSU, Wisc, and Ind before them?

IMO probably a 8-10 seed being the 7th place team in the B10, but in the tourney without much sweat on selection sunday...
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My assumption is the B1G will only get better next year.
 

gopherbadgerman said:
That could be right. A 6th finish could be in the 10-8 or 9-9 range and on the fringe of the top 25...what was purdue this year a 7 or something? I am assuming they were the last in from the B10 - MSU, Mich, OSU, Wisc, and Ind before them?

IMO probably a 8-10 seed being the 7th place team in the B10, but in the tourney without much sweat on selection sunday...
Click to expand...

Purdue was a 10 seed, but none of the top five teams in our conference got anything lower than a 4 seed: MSU was a 1, OSU a 2, and Michigan, Wisconsin, and IU were all 4 seeds. Purdue went 10-8 in conference but also lost 3 games in the non-conference season, albeit two of them against top 15 teams in Alabama and Xavier, and a bad home loss to Butler.

As to where we will finish next season, I'll make an optimistic prediction of 3rd, don't think we'll be able to finish ahead of MSU or OSU, but if we can finish in the top of the second tier of the Big Ten, which I will say consists of Minnesota, Purdue, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Indiana, that would get us to third place, and then of course 7th place if we finish at the bottom of that tier unless we tie for 5th or 6th with someone. That's just my vague estimate of what teams I think will be about on our level, although I feel like Indiana has a really nice recruiting class coming in. This was based a lot on assumptions, among those being that we play the full season with a full squad, which is a somewhat significant if, seeing as we haven't played even a single game with a full squad for 3 full seasons.

Still enjoying this NIT run and watching Rodney and Dre's marked improvement, Mbakwe getting his 6th year (even though it doesn't guarantee that he will be here next year), looking forward to next season, good things should happen!
 

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